


Nothing Short of a Miracle

by raven_bird



Series: Christmas Challenge 2015 [19]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur dealing with modern inventions, Christmas, Fix-It, Fluff, M/M, Post-Series, a little bit of angst but not much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 19:26:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5468204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raven_bird/pseuds/raven_bird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur was in Merlin’s living room, looking out of place and slightly uncomfortable amidst all the modern-day items. Merlin paused in the frame of the doorway, two mugs of hot chocolate held tightly in his hands, to watch as he examined the Christmas tree, poking at the baubles and candy canes.</p><p>“Merlin,” he said, when he noticed the other man, “Why do you have a <i>tree</i> in your home?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing Short of a Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this Christmas Prompt Challenge](http://alloftheprompts.tumblr.com/post/134349883493/25-days-christmas-romance-challenge)
> 
> Prompt: It’s Character A’s first Christmas since a tragedy.
> 
> ((Arthur's death very clearly counts as a tragedy))

Arthur was in Merlin’s living room, looking out of place and slightly uncomfortable amidst all the modern-day items. Merlin paused in the frame of the doorway, two mugs of hot chocolate held tightly in his hands, to watch as he examined the Christmas tree, poking at the baubles and candy canes.

 

“Merlin,” he said, when he noticed the other man, “Why do you have a _tree_ in your home?”

 

Merlin, still not used to hearing the Old English accent that was so pronounced in Arthur’s tone, took a moment to reply. “It’s for Christmas. People started using them a couple hundred years ago.”

 

Arthur raised his eyebrows. “That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve heard all day.”

 

“It probably won’t be the last,” Merlin muttered, knowing that having a tree inside wasn’t nearly the strangest thing about the 21st century that Arthur could choose to nitpick. He handed a mug to Arthur, who brought it up closer to his face so that he could examine the contents.

 

“Hot chocolate,” Merlin said, by way of explanation. “You’ll like it.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Arthur replied, though he took a tentative sip of the drink. Merlin watched as he tried to hide his contented expression after tasting it.

 

Merlin, if he was going to be honest, hadn’t quite had a proper Christmas himself. The tradition had always seemed to be intended for families, something Merlin hadn’t had in centuries. Occasionally, he had spent December decorating and baking cookies, imitating the customs that others did, but it had never resulted in the same holiday cheer that they had.

 

He had sometimes thought of the knights of Camelot, and Arthur, and how wonderful it could have been if they could be with him to celebrate. Not often: it hurt too much to dwell on their absence, and it only led him to aching more for Arthur’s presence.

 

Now that Arthur was back, everything seemed more real and significant. Merlin wanted nothing more than to have the Christmas that others had seemed to create. Seeing Arthur’s face, after so many centuries dragging on, one after another… it was nothing short of a miracle. And he wanted to spend as much time as humanly possible with the man in front of him. He was never going to allow them to get ripped apart from one another ever again.

 

So he was going to make the most of the holiday this year. It was their first Christmas after the events of the Battle of Camlann, and though he knew those times would still seem fresh in Arthur’s mind, they could discuss that later. For now, Merlin just wanted to make sure that they could, for once, enjoy their time without worrying about battles to be fought and adversaries to defeat.

 

“You’re staring at me.”

 

Startled, Merlin jumped, tearing his eyes away. Maybe he had been staring. After all this time, it was hard to stop himself from wanting to use every moment available to take in the face that had, until now, been available only through memories. “Sorry.”

 

Arthur put down his cup, looking thoughtful. “You never told me. How long has it been since I… I…”

 

 _Died_. The word hung in the air between them, the embodiment of everything that Merlin had been trying not to think about for nearly as long as he could remember. He could never bear to think too long about Arthur’s body, lifeless, lying in wait. He had never fully acknowledged it out loud, but for when he had travelled back to Camelot to tell Gwen and the people exactly what had happened to their king. He knew, even then, that Gaius had sensed the change within Merlin.

 

Under Arthur’s scrutiny, Merlin shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want to tell Arthur about the lonely centuries he had spent, without more than a handful of acquaintances at a time. He had tried, at first, to make friends when he could -- but after a while, he became exhausted of making friends only to have to maintain the illusion of aging with them, and then watching as they all passed away. This, he felt, would not satisfy Arthur.

 

“Merlin,” Arthur said, a little dangerously. Merlin knew he wouldn’t get out of this one.

 

“Centuries,” Merlin told him, finally. He didn’t elaborate, but it was enough of an answer. Arthur’s reaction was subtle, but even after all those years, Merlin knew him enough to recognize it. The tightening of his fists, the small opening and closing of his mouth, the half-step forward -- as if Arthur wanted to walk towards him and comfort him, but stopped himself at the last possible moment.

 

In an attempt to lighten the subject, Merlin picked up the television remote, taking a seat on the couch. “Come here. You’re going to love this.”

 

After the initial astonishment of seeing people on the screen (complete with an investigation of the screen, poking at the glass and and frowning), Arthur managed to relax enough to watch the Christmas movie that Merlin picked out -- _A Christmas Carol_. They get through the movie with Merlin pausing it every once and a while to explain the more confusing elements to Arthur.

 

Arthur humored Merlin as they go through the traditions of the holiday, from the movies to baking cookies. He didn’t fully understand what each one entailed, but Merlin’s excitement to have him back is so palpable that he didn’t even hesitate to follow through with whatever Merlin suggested. They even got around to decorating the house more than it had ever been before.

 

Merlin explained the meaning of each thing as they added it, talking about how each of the items had been introduced as a Christmas-related decoration. Arthur listened when he could, but for the most part he focused more on sorting through the box of decorations, searching for anything that particularly stood out.

 

“What’s this for?” Arthur asked, pulling out an artificial plant with white berries. Merlin, who was standing on a stool so that he could hang lights on the wall, looked down.

 

“Oh. That’s mistletoe.”

 

“And it’s for?” Prompted Arthur, looking down at the berries.

 

Merlin stepped down from the stool, having finished with the lights. “It gets hung above people. For lovers. The idea is that if you are underneath it, you kiss whoever you’re with.”

 

Arthur made a noise of understanding. “Anyone? Isn’t that a little ill-planned? What if it had just been someone like you and me?”

 

Merlin swallowed. That was the other thing. He had known, even back then, exactly what he felt for Arthur, but now it was different. There were words to describe him, they way that he felt. And it was entirely in his power, now, to act on what he felt. But... Arthur hadn’t had the time to get accustomed to the way the way that society had changed. Merlin wasn’t sure whether he was ready to risk anything so soon after his return.

 

Merlin shrugged, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. “It’s the twenty-first century. I’d apply to us, too.”

 

“Would it?” Arthur stood up, dropping the mistletoe to the ground. He stepped closer to Merlin, his face unreadable.

 

Merlin nodded.

 

“Then I’d like to try something,” Arthur said. He reached out and pulled Merlin closer. His eyes were as intently focused on Merlin as they had ever been, and Merlin forgot, for a moment, to breathe. All worries about risk abandoned, he managed to pull himself together enough to lean forward and, for the first time, close the distance between the two of them.

  
This was, he decided, better than any other outcome that Christmas could have created.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [lavenderjehan](http://lavenderjehan.tumblr.com)


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